Apple could revive one of the Apple Watch’s most distinctive premium finishes today, with the Apple Watch Series 12 reportedly set to include a ceramic option alongside the company’s more familiar case materials.
Apple previously sold ceramic versions of the Apple Watch as high-end Edition models, but the material disappeared from the lineup several generations ago. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported that ceramic is among the changes Apple has been considering for its next-generation watch.
A ceramic Series 12 would give Apple a more distinctive premium option without requiring a major redesign of the watch itself. Reports suggest this year’s models will retain the broadly familiar appearance of the Series 11, with Apple instead focusing on new internals, health capabilities, finishes and software features.
One of the biggest changes expected for Series 12 has little to do with its exterior. Apple is reportedly preparing a privacy-focused Siri feature called Recaps that can use information gathered throughout a user’s day to generate summaries, including context from conversations, without providing transcripts or storing conventional audio recordings.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 is also expected at today’s event, although it remains unclear whether ceramic will be limited to Series 12 or whether Apple has other premium material changes planned across the range.
Apple will reveal its new hardware at the ‘Surprise and shine’ event beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, or 6 p.m. in the UK.